From class clown to Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist, Dave Barry leaves them laughing

NEARLY 800 PEOPLE packed the Lesher Center’s Hofmann Theatre recently as Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry took the stage, delivering a laughter-filled performance that touched on everything from picking up his son in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, to publicizing International Talk Like a Pirate Day, to scheming to rename North Dakota to just “Dakota,” reaffirming his place as one of America’s most celebrated comedic voices.

“If you don’t learn anything else from me tonight — and trust me, you will not — learn this: do not mess with North Dakota,” Barry said as the audience burst into laughter. “If you go to Grand Forks, North Dakota, for any reason, such as if your plane crashed there, there is a brick building and it says Dave Barry, Lift Station Number 16” — a reference to a sewage plant.